JK Rowling Denies That Trans Children Exist (She’s Wrong)

Delving ever-deeper into harmful transphobia and misinformation, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has sparked outrage by falsely claiming that transgender children do not exist.

Rowling has become one of the most prominent champions of a movement that portrays transgender people as threats to women’s rights and children’s safety.

While initially positioning herself as an LGBTQ+ ally, the bestselling writer has shifted from criticising inclusive language—claiming it erases women’s identities—to actively promoting bigotry, fearmongering, and falsehoods.

Rowling has gone on to argue that transgender women are merely “cosplaying” men, denied historical evidence that the Nazis targeted transgender people during the Holocaust and has actively campaigned against gender-affirming healthcare for young transgender individuals.

On Saturday, she escalated her rhetoric, denying the existence of transgender children entirely. Responding to an online critic who wrote, “I wish you would use your immense power for good. Your hateful focus on trans kids is hurtful and unnecessary,” Rowling replied on X:

“There are no trans kids. No child is ‘born in the wrong body’. There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology that will end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies and false memory syndrome combined.”

Rowling’s assertion to her 14.2 million followers that transgender children do not exist is patently false. Countless studies, surveys, and the lived experiences of transgender individuals contradict her claims.

For example, a 2022 Washington Post survey of 550 trans adults in the US found that most (66%) said they began to understand their gender identity differed from the sex assigned to them at birth before the age of 18. This included a third who said they realised this when they were ten or younger.

Rowling went on to further claim that young people are being influenced by TikTok videos, schools promoting trans identities “behind parents’ backs”, “Big Pharma” and nefarious doctors to adopt transgender identities.

This argument echoes long-discredited and harmful narratives that suggest that gay and lesbian youth do not occur naturally but are also “converted” or “groomed” into their sexual identities by adults, forces such as “Western decadence” and liberal or progressive views, and other societal “trends”. These views continue to be perpetuated today in many countries to justify oppressive laws and policies against LGBTQ+ people.

The impact of Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric is profoundly troubling. It extends beyond her social media following, influencing politicians and uncritical media outlets. By perpetuating these harmful ideas, she further marginalises the already vulnerable transgender community, dangerously painting them as enemies of society, families, and “common sense”.